By Rocio Hernandez
A new face has joined the Washoe County School District — and he’s using his nose to keep schools safe.
Astro, an 18-month-old Labrador retriever, arrived at the school district in early July from Ireland, just north of Belfast, where he was bred and trained to be a firearms detection dog. Astro and his handler, officer Matt Bowers, spent the first weeks of the school year visiting different schools to get Astro acclimated to his new position as well as holding demonstrations to explain what Astro’s role is to students, along with some actual searching.
“He’s been just super well behaved, especially with the little ones,” Bowers said. “They’re all really happy to meet him and pet him.”
Washoe County School District Police Department Sgt. Seana Baker said the school district was interested in bringing on a firearms detection dog amid the rise in violent crime throughout the country.
“We just kind of wanted to get ahead of that,” she said. “We hope he never actually finds a gun at a school, but he is doing stellar in his training.”
Baker said police dogs, such as Astro, typically have a career that on average lasts about five years, but they can go longer depending on the health and mobility of the dog.
“So we’re never going to run the dog longer than what feels good for the dog,” Baker said. “But they are happiest when they are working.”
When he’s off the clock, Astro is just like any other dog. Bowers said Astro enjoys going out for walks or playing in their backyard. Bowers said he hasn’t seen a food that Astro doesn’t enjoy.
“He scarfs down his dry food like it’s nothing,” Bowers said. “We have these bacon-type treats that I feed him when I’m also doing basic obedience like sit, lay down, shake, stuff like that.”
He likes playing with toys and tennis balls, and recently, Astro’s been fascinated with stuffed animals.
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